Spirit of Etrene Island
by PinguSuperSquee
Summary: When Luffy and Zoro are thrown overboard in a storm, they end up stranded on a small island with no idea where they are or how long they'll be there for. However, their plan to sit tight and wait for their crew to come and save them is tossed aside when they discover a village of tiny people who have a mysterious problem and Luffy decides it's up to them to help.
1. Chapter 1- A Storm To Beat All Storms

Okay, hello my penguins ^3^ I have been working on this little fic for a while, and I have the next three or so chapters written. I'm still working on the fourth or fifth chapter, but I am hoping to finish it soon, so you shall have regular updates! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this first chapter, and I want to thank my friend Megan for being my first reader, and for her encouragement on this story. Go check out her deviant art and read her manga! It's fab!

So, enjoy, and Megan, I dedicate this to you ;)

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Chapter 1: A Storm to Beat All Storms

"Furl the sails! Tie down the crates! For god's sake, somebody _wake up Zoro!_" Nami's desperate voice was barely audible over the roaring of the vehement sea, the screaming of the wind and the rain crashing down on deck. A clap of thunder boomed around the heavens and a brilliant white flash illuminated the _Going Merry_ in a harsh light. The Strawhat crew were frantically running around the ship, trying their utmost to avoid disaster. Despite their best efforts, they were still just powerless ants in the face of this storm- no, _typhoon_ bearing down on them which seemed intent on reducing their ship to mere planks and nails tossed in the waves like driftwood. Everybody was doing their part; Robin was lending everybody a hand-literally- with the help of her devil fruit powers, Sanji and Usopp were below deck tying down any crates or barrels in danger of tipping over, Nami was stood on deck shouting orders to everyone, Chopper was in his biggest form trying his best to keep the _Merry_ on course and Zoro and Luffy were battling with the sails.

Half an hour ago you would have found a much more relaxed scene with everyone going about their business, whether that be sleeping, reading or playing games in the sun. However within what seemed a split second the weather turned, and one of the biggest storms Nami had ever seen had blown in. They had been fighting it since then and everyone was beginning to tire. The roiling black clouds were churning above, unrelentingly spitting fat rain droplets down at the crew and occasionally lit with streaks of stark white as more lighting flashed across the sky. The ship was being violently rocked from side to side, tossed by brutal waves and the crew didn't like it.

"Nami! I don't feel so good!" Usopp's wavering voice trailed out from below deck, followed by a low groan. "Hang in there guys! Just a little longer!" Nami shouted back. A round of grunts and nods from the rest of the crew ensued, each too preoccupied with their current tasks for any other form of encouragement.

Luffy was helping Zoro secure the sails when, quite by chance, he glanced up and saw a three storey wall of water heading towards them. His dark chocolaty eyes widened in fear, or what was as close to fear as Luffy could feel, and he span around to his green and black haired companions. "Zoro! Robin! Grab onto something! You too Nami!" he shouted, before turning back to face the monstrous wave. Sensing what was about to happen, Zoro and Robin ran over to the mast and held on tight, while Nami gripped onto the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white, quite in contrast with the light shade of blue her cold fingers had turned.

Luffy stretched his arm back as far as he could and after an almighty cry of "Gum Gum Pistol!" he snapped his fist forwards with so much force he was thrown backwards a good few feet. Zoro's heart thundered in his scarred chest, hammering against his ribcage as his dark eyes followed Luffy's attack, fearing the consequences if his captain did not succeed. A flash of lighting lit the dire scene eerily white, the grim expression on Luffy's usually cheerful face sharply defined by the severe brightness. After a second of this the lightning flash faded and the crew was once again plunged into the darkness of the storm.

Upon collision with Luffy's fist the wave broke apart, sending a wall of cold, salty water cascading down onto the _Merry_. A twice as wet and twice as cold Zoro breathed a sigh of relief and let go of the mast. If the _Merry_ had been hit by a wave of that size it would surely have been destroyed. "Good job Luffy!" Zoro shouted with a smirk. Luffy turned to face him and returned his smirk with a lopsided grin of his own, before turning to Nami who was also grinning from ear to ear, water dripping from tangled strands of her ginger hair. "Nami! I think we should head inside for now!" he shouted. Nami nodded vigorously, eager to warm up, and retreated into the kitchen where she was sure Sanji would be more then willing to make her a hot chocolate. Robin followed suit, a similar thought occupying her mind. She stopped when she reached the door to the kitchen and turned to look back at Zoro and Luffy, her dark hair plastered to her scalp. "Captain! Swordsman! Come inside before you catch a cold!" She called, her dark blue eyes narrowed with concern. The two nodded and hurriedly walked over to the wooden stairs where the archaeologist was waiting. They were just a few metres away from the door which was being held open by Robin, warm yellow light spilling out onto the soaked deck when a strong gust of wind caught them off guard. Before he had a chance to react, Luffy's precious straw hat had been blown clean off his head. He cried out in surprise and reached up desperately to catch it but missing by an inch. Zoro was dumbfounded by his captain's sudden change in demeanour, shifting from calm and collected to desperately groping at thin air, and watched as his friends treasure was blown away by the wind. An image of Shanks' face as he entrusted Luffy with his hat flashed through the young devil fruit users mind, and his body moved of its own accord, acting on instinct.

Robin and Zoro cried out, their jaws falling open as their captain sprinted across the deck after his hat and launched him self over the side. A flash of lightning painted the entire scene white as Luffy fell through the air, his fingers stretching out to grip familiar yellow straw and red ribbon, and tumbled down towards the cold water. Without hesitation, Zoro sprinted after him and leapt off the side of the ship after the dark haired boy, mind running at one hundred miles per hour and adrenaline pumping through his body. Robin stared after the two of them powerless to do anything, restricted by her devil fruit abilities. Her heart lurched to a stop as she heard first one, then a second loud splash.

"_Luffy! Zoro!_"

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So, what do you think? :) It's just the very first chapter, so it wont be getting to the main chunk of the story for another chapter or so but I hope you enjoyed it none the less! :)

Please drop me a review telling me if you liked it and if you think theres anything I could improve on, and as an extra little insentive, I wont upload the next chapter untill I get five reviews! :)

See ya next time! ;D

**King Pingu, ****_OUT!_**


	2. Chapter 2- A Sinking Feeling

Okay, first time I uploaded this it was written down twice... OOPS! "^_^ Thanks to the guys who pointed it out to me though and don't stop reviewing!

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Chapter 2: A Sinking Feeling

_Robin's heart lurched to a stop as she heard first one, then a second loud splash._

_"Luffy! Zoro!"_

Zoro plunged into the turbulent water, the coldness of it hitting him like a wall and nearly making him gasp out and loose his precious lungful of air. He squinted against the salty water and kicked his legs, gritting his teeth in an attempt to block out the biting cold which had already raised small goose bumps all

over his tanned skin. He had only dived in a few seconds after Luffy had fallen, but in the dim light and with the underwater currents knocking him about like a flag in the wind and distorting everything before his eyes, it would be difficult for Zoro to locate his rubber captain. A little voice in the back of his head, calling out from the midst of all Zoro's pessimism, was quietly asking what would happen if he _couldn't_ find Luffy, but he chose to ignore that voice; thinking like that now wouldn't do him any favours and would only serve to distract him.

Zoro dived down deeper into

the cold and dark ocean, ignoring his body's complaints and swimming through his shivering as fast as he could. He scanned the dark, restless water below him as he swam, constantly surveying with eagle like eyes for the tiniest hint of red.

As well as the problem of _seeing_ Luffy, there was also the issue of being able to _reach_ him in time. The biting cold of the waters was starting to have a numbing effect, and Zoro's muscles and joints were turning stiff, slowing him down. He released a small amount of air from his lungs to relieve some of the pressure that was building up in his chest, tiny quivering bubbles floating up to the surface. He knew that if he took too long finding Luffy, there was a possibility that both of them could drown.

The thought of his captain, the strongest man Zoro knew who was able to defeat a Sea King with a solitary punch being killed in such a pathetic way, and Zoro being powerless to save him made Zoro's heart burn with rage. There was no way Luffy could die like that; not until he was the pirate king. That was who Zoro had chosen to follow; Who Zoro had decided to fight along side; who Zoro had decided to _protect_.

The thought made Zoro kick his legs faster and harder, shaking off any of the previous stiffness and determined to save his captain. He fought the currents struggling to knock him off course and swam further down searching for his captain's bright red vest. He was frantically looking in the dark, whipping his head blindly from side to side with no actual guarantee he would see anything at all, but he couldn't give up even if he drowned. He felt vulnerable swimming so far down in the dark like this, and he knew that soon he wouldn't be able to see anything at all. He would be as helpful to his captain as a blind animal; that is to say not at all. He clenched his jaw in frustration. He had been searching in the dark for almost two minutes, and he had a sinking feeling in his heart. He was starting to think that he would have to resurface for air before he saw anything and doing that would mean that Luffy would be lost to him. "_Luffy? Where the heck are you, you dumbass?_" he thought, dark eyes scouring every single detail before him. A murky red dot a few metres below him caught his attention. His heart jumped in Zoro's chest. Was that him? He dived down closer to it, kicking his legs as hard as he physically could with one word on his mind;

"_Luffy!_"

Luffy hit the water with a cold splash, and almost instantly he felt its familiar effects; He felt exhausted as if all of his energy had grown wings and flown away over the horizon, leaving him a lifeless puppet in the sea's clutches. He could feel the strong currents throwing him around, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't kick his legs and fight his way back to the surface; he couldn't swim against the current. All he could do was keep a tight hold on his hat and wait for somebody to jump in after him.

Luffy hated it when he was in the ocean, he felt too weak and powerless. He was so capable usually; everybody would turn to him for help and support, so to feel so weak was strange for him. It almost scared him that he could be so easily bested by something like the ocean. If he were ever in a position where his friends weren't able to save him, he would be done for and he knew it all to well. That was partly why he was so close with his crew; he knew that if he could trust them to have his back when he needed it.

He wasn't sure how long he had been in the cold water now, but his chest was starting to hurt. He had gulped down a big lungful of air before he fell in, but even that can only last you so long. He knew he was sinking deeper with every passing second, and it was getting darker too; Darker and colder. He wasn't worried though. He knew that somebody would have noticed him fall and jumped in after him, somebody would save him before he ran out of air. Or at least, that's what he kept telling himself. To think anything else wouldn't help him right now, so he just had to stay positive.

His eye sight was starting to go fuzzy and dark at the edges, and there was an incredible pain in his chest. His head was starting to spin and he was starting to loose consciousness. He was on the brink of passing out and had just let go of all his breath, hundreds of fat wobbling bubbles floating up to the surface of the ocean. His world was rapidly clouding over but just before he totally lost consciousness, he saw a figure a few metres above him and getting closer. "_Finally_" he thought, before he lost his grip on reality and slipped into the warmth that passing out brought with it.

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Okay, so I know it took a while, but I reached five reviews! Yay! I was going to upload it soon anyway, because I felt guilty about leaving it so long between chapters. SORRY ABOUT THAT GUYS!

I hope that any followers I or this story have enjoyed this chapter, and I apologise for it being so short :/ I swear they do get longer and more interesting after this so please just bare with me!

As always this is dedicated to Meg-chan, go check out her deviant art cause she's great

I would also like to dedicate this chapter to my lovely lovely reviewers:  
LuffyGirl  
GuestMeikoKuran999Another guest :L  
And Mad100141 :D

So again, please try make it another five reviews untill chapter three! Pretty please! I do like to have my ego stroked!

Love you forever Penguins!

_**King Pingu, **_**OUT!**


	3. Chapter 3- Tossed In The Waves

**A/N Hey guys, I am so So SO sorry it's taken me so long to update! I had a bunch of exams I had to revise for every night and I was on a laptop-ban because it was distracting me too much. I really wanted to update sooner but I literally could not, so I'm sorry. To make up though, I've edited my original draft to make it longer for you guys, ya~ay! Anyway, I understand if any of my old readers have given up on me, but I hope I'll at least get maybe three reviews on this? Pretty please? Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: whoops, not done any of these yet. Anyway, obviously I don't own One Piece or any of it'scharacters, they all belong to Oda-sama. **

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Chapter 3: Tossed In the Waves

_Luffy's world was rapidly clouding over but just before he totally lost consciousness, he saw a figure a few metres above him and getting closer. "Finally" he thought, before he lost his grip on reality and slipped into the warmth that passing out brought with it._

The moment when Zoro was face to face with Luffy again, he could have jumped for joy, in a manly way. If he weren't under water of course. The relief he felt at having found his captain was short lived however when he noticed that Luffy's chocolaty eyes were closed, and he didn't respond when Zoro grabbed him by the arm. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened despite the saltiness of the water. "_Oh crap! He's unconscious!_" he thought as he grabbed his captain around the waist. "_I have to get him back to the surface before he drowns!_" Zoro thought, as he became painfully aware of how little breath he had left in his body.

He and started swimming upwards, kicking his legs as hard as he could in an effort to reach the surface as fast as possible. However the harder he kicked, the more his body screamed out for fresh oxygen and Zoro's head was starting to pound. "_Crap… The surface didn't look so far up earlier_" Zoro thought as the roiling waves above him seemed to stretch further and further away from Luffy and him. He clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent him from gasping out all the air he had locked away in his lungs and glanced down at his captain. The hand clutching his straw hat was hanging limply by Luffy's side and his dark black hair was floating in a soft cloud around his face.

"_Come on Luffy, you've survived worse than this, just hang in there a little longer!_" Zoro thought desperately as he fought his way back to open air. Zoro's body was tired, cold and stiff and it would be so easy for him to just give up now, and let the wild ocean carry him off to a watery grave. The weight in his arms however reminded him that he wasn't doing this for his own sake; it was to save his best friend.

He dug deep and tapped into reserves of energy he didn't know he had, and gave one final push to reach the surface of the water. The muscles in his legs screamed at him and his vision started to go cloudy. Bright dots flashed before his eyes and a thick, suffocating blanket settled on his mind, muffling and blocking his thoughts, but he didn't relent.

He was fighting hard against it all, giving it his absolute best but he was on the brink of drifting into the warm and welcoming world of unconsciousness. Just as he thought he might not make it, Zoro's head broke the surface of the water and cold wind hit his face. He dragged Luffy's head above the water as he gulped down a huge lungful of cool, refreshing air, filling his starved lungs greedily like a hungry dog.

He had never truly appreciated sea air before; a slightly salty taste, yet cleaner than any land air he had breathed before. Now though he felt as if he would never take the simple pleasure of breathing for granted ever again.

As he gasped and spluttered, he turned his attention back to his captain. The fuzziness was clearing from his mind now and he could think straight again. The first thing that pushed its way to the front of his thoughts was the question "_Is Luffy breathing?_"

He looked down at Luffy, still panting heavily, and pushed the wet black hair out of the younger boy's eyes. His face was pale, his dark chocolaty eyes were closed and his chest was still, and Zoro feared the worst. "Come on Luffy! Come on, snap out of it!" Zoro almost shouted as he shook Luffy by the shoulders. He reached a hand down into the water and grabbed the straw hat, looping the string around Luffy's neck so that it wouldn't be washed away by the violent waves. Once that was done, Zoro turned Luffy around in his arms so that the boy was facing away from him and started desperately thumping him on the back with shaking hands. "Come on Luffy! Come on! _Come on_ damn it, you can't die on me!" Zoro shouted, trying to keep his voice level. They were still being thrown around in the violently thrashing waves, the rain was still pounding down on their faces and Zoro was still struggling to keep both their heads above the water, but he didn't stop; he refused. He kept on hitting Luffy's back, trying to make him cough up the water he had undoubtedly swallowed.

It was a tense few minutes, and Zoro was on the brink of giving up as he still had no reaction from Luffy. Zoro had tears in his eyes, but whether that was from all the salt in them or the fact that Luffy _still_ wasn't breathing he wasn't sure. "Come _ON_!" he shouted as he gave one final thump, harder than any of the previous attempts (and probably hard enough to leave a nasty bruise too).

Suddenly Luffy gave one small weak cough, shortly followed by a long coughing fit with him hacking up all the water he had swallowed. Zoro simply held his captain above water level and kept him steady in wake of all the strong waves trying to send them back under. Even so, Zoro had a small smirk on his face. "I knew you'd make it Luffy." He said despite the fact Luffy wasn't paying him any attention for the moment.

Once Luffy had successfully coughed up the contents of his lungs and was breathing again, Zoro wrapped Luffy's arm around his neck so as to better support him in the waves. Zoro glanced all around him, trying to stay calm despite the fact that he couldn't see the _Going Merry. _After a moment or two of searching, he saw a tiny ship-shaped blip in the distance. Zoro's face fell as he realised that the tiny ship-shaped blip was most likely _their _ship, and that there was no way he would ever be able to catch up to it. Luffy glanced up at the green haired swordsman with tired eyes, his energy still being sapped by the sea.  
"Wha's up Zoro?" He asked, his words slurring. Zoro glanced down at him for a brief moment, before looking back to the every shrinking blip in the distance. "The ship's too far away Luffy, there's no way we can reach it." He said, his voice neutral. Luffy gave a slight nod. "Wha now then?" he asked, turning his half lidded chocolaty eyes to look at the older man. Zoro was silent for a little while as he thought, the cogs in his head whirring and spinning. He'd already worked out that they couldn't swim to the ship, but he didn't know what else they could do. The only other alternative was for them to float all night in the cold ocean and hope they could endure the storm until they washed up somewhere. Zoro vaguely remembered seeing a small island in the distance a short while after the storm started, but he couldn't be sure.

He glanced back down at Luffy, his eyes a mixture between determination and worry, and flashed him a small, uncertain grin. "I guess we just wait until we wash up somewhere." He said. Luffy frowned slightly, and Zoro could tell what he was thinking. Luffy was thinking that in this storm, and with himself as useless as a log, Zoro wouldn't be able to keep them both above water all night, and they would drown. Zoro didn't blame him for thinking like that; the thought had crossed his own mind as well. He was determined he wouldn't let his captain down though. He would get them through this just on sheer willpower if he had to.

And so, the longest night of Zoro's life started like that: him being battered on all sides by cold, salty waves, fighting to keep his own head above water and trying to keep his weak and drowsy captain from drowning as well. All of it was taking its toll on his already depleted energy reserves, and he really had to fight to find the energy to carry on. He even found himself feeling slightly bitter towards Luffy; I mean come on, what kind of pirate can't even swim? He quickly banished such thoughts from his head though. He knew that Luffy, even though he had lost the ability to swim, had gained immense strength and power through eating the devil fruit, and he had lost count of how many times Luffy's stretchy abilities had saved everyone's asses.

So he just had to plough on and try to keep them alive through the night. He knew they had drifted quite far from where they were originally because a big shadowy shape was looming far away on the horizon. Or was there? He couldn't be sure, since the lashing rain made everything look hazy. Luffy's head was starting to droop down even further, and his small frame was slipping from where he was held against Zoro's broad chest. Zoro cursed and wrapped his arm tighter around the boy, ignoring the dull ache in his shoulder from keeping his arm locked in the same position.

"Come on Luffy, try and keep your head up." He said between pants. Luffy stirred in his arms and rolled his chocolaty eyes up so that he was staring at Zoro through wet black bangs. "But Zoro, 'm tired…" He said, his voice trailing off as he lowered his head back down, not having the energy to keep it up so that he could look at his first mate. "I know Lu, but you gotta try. I think I can see an island in the distance so I'm gonna try and swim towards it, okay?" He asked, not expecting much of a response. This was probably the longest period of time Luffy had ever been in the ocean, and Zoro could only guess at how it was making him feel. He had asked before, after Luffy had fallen off the _Merry's _figure head, what it felt like to be in the ocean. Luffy had replied by telling him it felt like he was pushed into a corner of his mind, aware of what was happening but unable to react to anything. He said it felt like the controls to his body were taken away from him, and he was left utterly exhausted. Zoro knew that for his unnaturally strong and resilient captain, that was probably the worst thing that could happen to him.

Receiving no response from his incapacitated captain, Zoro started his fruitless struggle against the powerful waves and currents to swim towards the shady silhouette of the island.

It must have been the early hours of the morning by now, and Zoro was more tired than he ever remembered feeling. He was absolutely shattered, and he felt like his entire body was screaming at him. His muscles were on fire and his lungs were heaving, trying desperately to gasp in enough oxygen to keep him going. Even his mind was tired by this point, and he kept losing his grip on Luffy. Despite his best efforts, he had no way of telling how far they were from the island. A thick cloud cover had formed, blocking out every single ray of moonlight that had previously been illuminating the ocean. He hated to admit it, but Zoro was spent. He had been swimming like this all night and he had no energy left to use. Panic took his mind over as the edges of his vision turned fuzzy and black, and in the fleeting moments before he passed out, he quickly took a small coil of rope out of his pocket and tied himself and Luffy together so that they wouldn't get separated. While he was doing this his vision was becoming increasingly shadowed and he cursed as he fumbled with the basic knot he was trying to tie. With that done, Zoro let himself drift into the warm embrace of unconsciousness, not sure whether to be grateful for this respite or not.

The dark moonless sky allowed for no pale light to be cast down upon the sea, but if it had then you would have seen an island. As islands go, it was neither large nor small, but large enough for what was needed of it. It had white sandy beaches with sea weed and drift wood strewn around here and there, and large grey boulders sat away from the tide line. Long dry grasses grew in clusters the furthest back from the sea, pushing up out of the dry white sand. This grass served as a graduation line, distinguishing where the beach ended and the forest began. It sat around fifty metres away from the waves, and consisted of tall trees with dark brown, kind of cushiony and soft, bark and thick sturdy branches covered in brightly coloured leaves. Eventually the sand gave way to soil and more vegetation started to appear as well. Bushes, mushrooms, wild flowers; everything you could think of was contained within the forest. The majority of the island was covered in this thick forest, but towards the centre of the island a small mountain pushed its way up past the foliage. A glistening white snow cap sat atop of the grey rock, a delicate decoration on something much harsher. A small stream of melted snow ran down from the mountain, dancing down the mountainside into an azure pool hidden away by a labyrinth of jagged rocks and tangled vines. Feeding off of this pool was another small stream, slightly bigger than the mountain stream which twisted its way through the island, in no particular hurry to reach the ocean. A large variety of animals inhabited the island too, ranging from lumbering reptiles with long flickering tongues to brightly coloured birds with huge wings and sharp beaks. A symphony of bird song, insect chirrups, predator howls, reptile hisses and other assorted animal noises could be heard, accompanying the gentle whispering of the wind in the trees and the lapping of the waves on the shore. The island smelt richly of moist earth and wet leaves thanks to the storm which had only just died down, and it was as if the life on the island felt rejuvenated and renewed by the rain.

It was on this particular island that two bedraggled figures washed up on the beach as if they were nothing more than drift wood. Their hair was plastered to their pale faces and they lay a few metres away from each other, a snapped piece of rope lying between them. Neither of them moved and neither of them made a sound as the sea lapped at their feet, and an eerie silence fell upon the island as the animals all fell quiet. The only sound that could be heard was a sudden, loud crashing from somewhere deep inland.

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So, what did you think? :3 was it any good? Please drop me a quick review, or a longer one if you've got the time/effort. I'd really love to know what you think of it and any ideas you've got so that I can make the rest of the story the best it can be. Thanks for reading Penguins!

**King Pingu, ****_OUT!_**


	4. Chapter 4: A Survival Game

**A/N: ****GUYS! I know I've left it ages again, but I have a genuine excuse this time. I, er, kinda dropped my tv on my laptop and smashed the screen. My tv is one of those old bricky super-freaking-heavy ones and my screen is completely totalled. At the moment my laptop is plugged into a separate computer monitor but that took ages to set up because of some cable or another that my brother had to order for me, so I apologise profusely. Shoutouts to my reviewers for the last chapter Grey-Skye-eyes, Kaoru likes One Piece, Deadly In Pink and LuffyGirl! I know I haven't replied, but as I said I've been computerless, so I'd like to thank you for your support. It's greatley appreciated! Also a shoutout to ****_you_****, the person reading this right now! even if you don't drop me a review, you're still boosting my stats and boosting my mood! Thank you everybody! Anyway, please forgive me for the wait and the long authors note, but I present to you Chapter three! *insert fanfare here***

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of it's characters (no matter how much I may wish it), they all belong to Oda-sama.**

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Chapter 4: A Survival Game.

_It was on this particular island that two bedraggled figures washed up on the beach as if they were nothing more than drift wood._

_Neither of them moved and neither of them made a sound as the sea lapped at their feet, and an eerie silence fell upon the island as the animals all fell quiet. The only sound that could be heard was a sudden, loud crashing from somewhere inland._

Luffy groaned as he slowly woke up, and opened his eyes just a crack. The sliver of sunlight that penetrated his darkness was blindingly bright, but he was glad it was there. If he could see the sun, that meant he hadn't drowned and that his dream of becoming the pirate king was still alive.

His entire body ached and he still felt exhausted, but the warm sand below him was soothing. He could hear the murmurs of the surf, and a wide variety of animal calls. After a short while of just lying down and not moving, Luffy decided he should see where Zoro was. He slowly sat up and opened his eyes fully, blinking as they adjusted to the light. When he could see properly again, he took a look around. The first thing he saw was the lush green forest looming up over him like a leafy army of giants, and the bright plants and animals hiding within. He took a look around the perfect white beach he was sat on, and was confused to see a length of rope a few feet away from him. A few feet further on from that, and a little farther from the reach of the time was a mess of footprints leading away into the forest. Even with his normally simplistic mind being clouded over with grogginess, Luffy could guess that Zoro was the one who had been lying there, and that meant that _both _of them were alive and well. Luffy smiled weakly, his heart flooding with relief and considered what to do next. He had no idea where Zoro had gone, or when he had gone, and he had no idea where he was either. He worked out from the suns positioning that it was probably around midday, and he was starting to feel hungry; _really _hungry. Clutching athis stomach, Luffy stood up on shaky legs and started to explore the island.  
Of course, at this point, the logical decision would have been to sit tight and wait for Zoro to return, that is if the green haired swordsman didn't get lost along the way, but then again when have Luffy's decisions ever been logical?

With his mind full of images of mouth watering roast, grilled and fried meat, and a goofy grin on his face, Luffy staggered off down the white sandy beach.

The warm sand beneath Luffy's feet tickled, and warmed his toes as he walked. There was a pleasant cool breeze which made the searing heat of the summer sun feel less intense; were he still on the ship he would have claimed it was perfect weather for fishing and a barbeque cooked by Sanji. Sweet smells would fill the air, wafting out of the kitchen through the open door and laughter would be heard all around the ship as Usopp recounted one of his many brave adventures. Thinking about what he would have been doing made Luffy's heart flood with sorrow, so he stopped. He had no way of telling what his crew would be doing right now, so he roughly shoved all such thoughts to the back of his mind where they couldn't disturb him.

As he walked, he clasped his hands behind his head and let it loll back so that he was looking up at the crisp blue sky. A few velvety white clouds scudded along across the cerulean backdrop, pushed along by the wind like water running down a pane of glass. The sun was a bright yellow colour, the prettiest shade of yellow Luffy had ever seen by far. Although it hurt his eyes to look directly at the sun, Luffy still tried anyway. He stopped trying after a few attempts, by which time most of his sight was clouded over with fuzzy purple and green blobs that drifted across his vision.

As well as the ever present salty smell of the ocean, a mixture of sweet, fresh and earthy smells were mixing together in the air; a result of numerous different species of flowers, mosses and trees, as well as the moist earth. Luffy inhaled deeply, enjoying the delectable feast that was being served up for his nose by the island.

Looking towards the source of all the different aromas, Luffy scrutinised the forest. Whereas before he only cast it a fleeting glance, he was really looking in detail now. The tall green trees were about fifty feet high each, and broad, glossy leaves sprouted from thick branches coated in dark bark around a third of the way up the trunk. Scattered around the bottoms of the trees like children clinging to their parent's legs were small shrubs and bushes, each decorated with delicate little blooms in pale colours. In small clearings a little further past the tree line were swathes of wild flowers carpeting the floor, only blooming in the patches of warm sunlight. Numerous logs and dead branches lay scattered around the forest floor, lying in the same place they originally fell in, covered in different types and shades of soft moss.

Luffy jumped back in surprise when a small furry animal ran out from behind a tree and back into the shade. It had russet coloured fur and a white face, and its body was long and thin. Now that he thought about it, Luffy could see animals all over the forest floor and up in the canopy too. Small fury creatures, much like the russet coloured weasel, small felines with green fur, winged insects with markings that made it look like they had faces on their wings and birds with feathers all colours of the rainbow and indescribable calls. The birds sounded as though they had one thousand voices all rolled into one, as well as the sound of an entire army's footsteps.

Luffy was stood staring in wonder at the forest, is mouth agape and his eyes wide, for a good fifteen minutes or so, amazed by all the exotic life he found within the thicket. He was so engrossed in his new environment that he didn't notice when a certain green haired swordsman strolled right up behind him, a bundle of wood under one tanned, muscular arm.

"Hey, Luffy?" He asked nonchalantly. Luffy snapped out of his day dream and stumbled forwards in surprise, his fists up in a guard position and his chocolaty eyes wide. Zoro quirked an eyebrow at him and seeing that it was only his first mate, Luffy dropped down to the floor, tired by his sudden rush of movement. Zoro sighed and sat down next to his captain after dropping his bundle of wood to the floor. He looked at Luffy for a moment or two, concern written all over his face before resting his elbow on Luffy's shoulder. Surprised by the sudden contact, Luffy looked up at his friend and locked his gaze.

"You alright, Luffy?" Zoro asked, his eyes giving nothing away. Luffy flashed him a weak grin and fell back on the sand, clasping his hands behind his head and his straw hat knocked behind him on the sand. He sighed. "I'm still really tired; I was in the water too long. I feel better though, but I'm _starving!_" He exclaimed, theatrically gripping his flat stomach. Zoro smirked and flopped back on the sand next to his dark haired friend. "Well if you're hungry I suppose you can't be too bad." He said with a light chuckle. Luffy closed his eyes, smiling. "So where did you go then?" he asked. "Well you were still out cold, and I figured you wouldn't be waking up for a while so I went to find some wood to build a fire with, and see if I could find us something to eat." Luffy's ears perked up at the mention of food.

"And did you?" Luffy asked, referring to the food. Zoro sweat dropped.

"Ah, no, I kind of got lost before I could find anything. I just spent the last two hours finding my way back." Zoro said, having the decency to look embarrassed. Luffy frowned, his stomach rumbling loudly.

"Oh Zoro!" They remained quiet for a moment longer until Luffy spoke again. "So are you alright Zoro? What happened last night?" While he spoke, Zoro noticed how Luffy's eyes darkened and his voice grew ever so slightly quieter. He sighed again and looked out to sea.

"I'm good; you're probably worse off than me to be honest. After we fell overboard last night I kept us afloat. I think you passed out at some point, and I eventually passed out as well. I actually thought we were going to die too, you know?" Luffy remained silent. "Anyway, before I lost it all I tied us together to make sure we wouldn't be separated but I must have blacked out close to this island because when I woke up, here we were. Alive." Zoro glanced over at Luffy, taking in his tanned face, the scar under his right eye, his black hair… He had no idea what he would do if he had let Luffy die on his watch. Even the thought of it made his heart twist into knots with guilt, rage, grief…

"Yep, alive." Luffy said, turning his face to look Zoro in the eye, a big smile cracking his face in half. Zoro smiled back at him after a moment, glad that he didn't have to worry about all the what if's.

Luffy kicked his legs in the air, and pushed himself back up into a seating position. He turned and looked back at Zoro, who was still lying on the warm sand. "So then Zoro, what do we do now?" He asked, his voice reflecting the gravity of their situation. Zoro frowned. Not only did he not like it when his captain's bubbly cheerfulness vanished, but he also didn't like how most of the decisions always ended up being made by him. Honestly, Luffy was the captain; this kind of thing was his decision. "_On second thoughts,_" Zoro thought, "_Maybe its best if I take this choice. God knows what Luffy would decide!_"

Sitting up so that he was face to face with his so called captain again, Zoro thought hard for a moment or two. He gazed out at the sea, wondering where on earth their crew would be, and if they would be able to find them considering the conditions when they fell overboard. He looked over to the forest as well, trying to work out if there would be any resources available to them in there.

Luffy's frown deepened with each extra minute Zoro stayed silent gazing about him. He wanted to get up, and go explore the rest of the island! He wanted to climb the trees and swing through the branches; he wanted to chase the bigger animals and cook them; he wanted to build a den under the canopy; he wanted to _play!_ And yet here Zoro was, sitting in silence and thinking. Just as Luffy was about to jump on Zoro and demand he explore with him, Zoro snapped his head back to look at Luffy. Luffy shrank back with an innocent look on his face, inspecting the sand around him as though it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. "_Does he know what I was planning?_" Luffy thought, eyeing Zoro suspiciously. Thankfully Zoro seemed oblivious as to the injury he had just avoided, because he started explaining what their plan would be.

"Okay, so we don't know where the others are; how far away from us they are, if the ship's okay, that kind of thing. Knowing them though, they're fine and will probably come and look for us soon. Until then though, I think the best plan of action would be for us to just sit tight and wait for them to find us." He said, with a nod. Luffy gawked at him, and flopped back down on the sand. "But that sounds _boring_!" He whined, rolling around on the sand as he did so. Zoro groaned and face palmed.

"Okay then, how about we… Call it a survival game?" Zoro asked, not sure if this would be enough to satisfy his childish captain. Luffy shot up like a bullet, a massive grin on his face. "A GAME?!" He asked excitedly, bobbing up and down a bit.

"_Evidently it is enough…_" Zoro thought. "Yeah, we have to collect fire wood, food, find shelter that kind of thing until the crew finds us." He said, making it up as he went along really. "If we manage to survive until then, then we win!"

Luffy was staring at him with a determined expression on his face. "There's no way we'd lose Zoro! We're the best team ever! Let's GO!" And with that shout, he jumped up and started running towards the forest, waving his arms in the air. After a few metres though, he stumbled and fell to the ground with a surprised 'oof'. Zoro sighed and, after picking up Luffy's straw hat, walked over to his black haired friend and helped him up. Then the two delved into the forest, Luffy's arms over Zoro's shoulders and small grins on each of their weary faces.

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**So? Did you like it? Did you think it was okay? I hope so :) Please feel free to drop me a review, and if you want to follow/favorite then go ahead! If I'm taking ages to update again drop me a PM to kick me up the backside, chapter 5 is already written and I just need to start on chapter six now. Anyway thank you for your support, ****King Pingu, ****_OUT!_**


	5. Chapter 5- Things That Go Bump At Night

**A/N ****Hey guys! I am so sorry this has taken so long to do, but I got really stuck on writing Zoro's dream because I had no idea how to do it and have it work effectively, Please tell me honestly what you think of that part in particular, as I think I'm in need of the constructive criticism right now. Anyway, my school breaks up for summer in about a weeks time, so hopefully I'll have more oppertunities to actually sit down and get some stuff written, because I really do feel bad leaving it so long between updates! Anyway, shout outs to my reviewers from last chapter:**

**Deadly In Pink  
Sess18  
Wulfeh  
Sapphire Insanity**

**anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter, please drop me a quick review as it motivates me to actually get the chapter written, and as always, I thank you for sticking with me and reading my work.**

**I've since edited this chapter to improve the dream scene (Thanks go out to mad100141 for pointing out the flaws in it) and I'm starting on chapter six as we speak!**

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Chapter 5: Things That go Bump in the Night.

_Luffy jumped up and started running towards the forest, waving his arms in the air. After a few metres though, he stumbled and fell to the ground with a surprised 'oof'. Zoro sighed and, after picking up Luffy's straw hat, walked over to his black haired friend and helped him up. Then the two delved into the forest, Luffy's arms over Zoro's shoulders and small grins on each of their faces._

Hours later, when the sky was a deep inky black scattered with pale stars that shimmered like glitter and a single silvery streak of moonlight, Luffy and Zoro were back on that sandy white beach with a small campfire and a long overdue dinner. The orange flames licked at the blackening branches and jumped up into the air, dancing sparks twirling up to the heavens. A fish and two of the weasel creatures were slowly roasting on sticks above the fire, and Luffy and Zoro were savouring every moment of the already cooked weasels they were currently devouring. Noise was still seeping through the branches of the forest, but it was different to that they had heard during the day; this was a symphony of the night time animals.

The weather was still pleasant, although the temperature had dropped a bit with the transition from day to night. Zoro sat with one hand on the hilt of his swords, fearing that the smell of roasting meat and fish might attract whatever predators lived on this isolated island. Luffy however sat sucking the last of his meat off the bone, none of these worries stepping foot into his mind. He stared impatiently at the still uncooked meat resting on the embers, as if he could make them cook faster through sheer force of will.

Every three minutes Luffy would drag his gaze away from the cooking food to stare wide eyed at Zoro, silently asking if it was cooked yet. After the first few times Zoro stopped paying attention to his impatient captain, finding it easier to just ignore him. Once the food was finally cooked, Luffy almost leapt for joy as Zoro handed him another weasel and half of the fish. They two of them ate in silence, each too preoccupied with the food to bother striking up conversation. They were starving and hadn't eaten since lunch the day before when they were still on ship.  
They devoured the food like hungry tigers, and in record time too. After they had sucked every morsel and scrap of meat from the bone, and licked their fingers clean of any juice, they leaned back on the sand and grinned at each other.

Of course, it wasn't the biggest meal they had ever eaten, and had left them not quite feeling full. It was nothing in comparison to the delectable, mouth-watering wonders Sanji would have been able to cook up for them, and Zoro was certain it would have gone down better with a little sake but food was food.

And it was well deserved food too; the day had left the two pirates thoroughly exhausted. Not only had Luffy run off through the trees more times than Zoro could count, but he had decided he would have a wrestling match with a snake too. A _big _snake. Zoro had only just managed to pull Luffy away from the snake's long curved fangs, which were doubtlessly full of venom.

Obviously Luffy hadn't had what you might call a peachy day either; not only was he still exhausted from his swim in the sea, but Zoro had got them lost hundreds of times, leading them in numerous circles around the island while trying to get back to the beach. Long story short, both of them were tired beyond belief, with sore feet and worn out bodies.

After sitting like this for a little while, with not a word passing between the pair, Luffy broke the peaceful silence that had settled between him and Zoro

"Hey, Zoro?" He said, sitting up a bit more so that he could look at Zoro.

"Yeah, what is it?" the green haired swords man asked, giving his captain a sidelong glance.

"Thanks for jumping in after me when I fell into the ocean in the middle of that storm. I'm sorry we ended up stranded here." Luffy said, grinning at his first mate. Zoro quirked an eyebrow, and beckoned for his young captain to move closer. Dropping his grin slightly in confusion, Luffy complied and shuffled across the sand so that he was sat next to Zoro, leaning forwards on his hands. Suddenly, without any warning Zoro raised his fist and punched Luffy in the head with an impassive expression on his face. Luffy fell back on the sand clutching his skull and kicking his legs, shouting in pain.

"What was that for?" Luffy asked once he had stopped shouting.

"For you being stupid." Zoro said as he stared out at the sea. "You don't have to thank me for it, dummy. I'm your first mate and your best friend; there's no way I wouldn't jump in after you. You're my captain and I swore to follow you no matter what, even if that means following you into danger, or even into the ocean every now and then."

Luffy stopped squirming on the sand and looked at the back of Zoro's green head. He smiled softly and lay down on the sand, taking off his hat and placing it next to him.  
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He said, a slight chuckle in his voice as he looked up at the stars. He yawned once and rolled over so that he was facing the fire, his face cast in a soft yellow light by the fire and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Zoro glanced behind him and smirked when he saw that Luffy was asleep. He was glad his young captain was able to rest though; his prolonged dip in the ocean had really taken a toll on the young devil fruit user. Heaving a sigh, the green haired swordsman turned back to look at the sea. He found it strange how contradictory the sea was. It could be calming and peaceful like tonight, the waves quietly lapping at the shore and the pale moonlight delicately reflecting off the inky waters. Yet it could also be rough and violent, tossing any ship it could find in wild waves as tall as mountains and as strong as monsters. It could obliterate any sailor unaccustomed to its tendencies in a matter of minutes as if it were nothing. It was this sea that carried him, his captain and the rest of his crew towards their dreams, yet it was also this sea that could so easily rip those dreams cruelly away from them in an instant.

Zoro knew he would never grow accustomed to the pure fear that gripped him whenever his captain fell overboard. Each and every time, he was still taken by surprise as an icy cold hand gripped his heart with long, frozen fingers and squeezed all of the breath out of his lungs. His stomach plummeted down at one hundred miles per hour and his body was paralysed with fear as thoughts of Luffy dying and what he would do with out his childish captain raced through his mind at the speed of light. It was at around this time that the instinctual part of his brain would scream at his legs to get a move on, and before he knew what was happening Zoro would be racing after Luffy with no regard for his own well being; all that mattered was saving his captain and ensuring that he would live to become the pirate king.

Of course Zoro would jump in after Luffy every time; it was a given The alternative was to sit back and let him drown. Even the thought of Luffy dying in such an inglorious way made Zoro's stomach knot up with grief. When Luffy did fall, it would be after he had become the pirate king, and it would be in an epic battle against an enemy who just so happened to outmatch him, or in the process of defeating an impossibly strong enemy; not at the hands of the sea.

Zoro realised that he was clenching his fists and his jaw and quickly relaxed them. He shook his head to clear those thoughts from his head. After all, this time, Zoro had saved Luffy again. Looking up at the sky, Zoro stared at the silver streak of moonlight that hung in the centre of the night sky. With a faint smirk, Zoro lay down on the sand parallel to Luffy. Zoro looked at Luffy's sleeping face as he waited for the warm embrace of sleep to reach out to him. He took in his messy black hair, the small scar underneath his right eye, and the grin that remained on his face even while he was fast asleep. Zoro laughed quietly, before the gentle sounds of the waves lapping at the shore and the cooing of the light wind through the trees lulled Zoro into a peaceful sleep.

_Zoro cracked an eye open as he watched his captain fool around on the deck of the Going Merry, his eyes glinting in mischief. He was jumping around and stretching his arms as far as he could up into the sky, trying to catch the flock of gulls over head. The edges of Zoro's lips quirked upwards into a smirk as he watched his immature friend once again acting years younger than he was. Zoro sighed contentedly and let his eyes slide shut again, not bothering to suppress a relaxed yawn._

_Zoro was harshly snapped back into reality by the sound of a surprised yelp cut off mid-shout and replaced by a strangled gurgle. He snapped his eyes open, hands instantly flying to the katana's strapped to his side and felt his heart stop in its tracks, a sense of dread piercing him to his very core. Just a few feet in front of him, Zoro saw an unknown stranger grasping Luffy by the neck and holding him a good foot off the ground. Zoro's eyes widened in shock as he saw the murderous intent shining clear as day in the stranger's eyes. He took in the thick muscles coiled beneath the man's dark skin, his short black hair and his bare chest, covered in battle scars. How had he allowed this guy on board without noticing?  
The stranger cast Zoro a side long glance and quirked an eye brow, as if to say "_And what are you going to do about it?_" Luffy's scared gaze locked with Zoro's and the swordsman's eyes darkened as a fierce desire to kill this man consumed him. _

_With a cry of rage, Zoro drew all three of his blades and charged at the man, aiming a swipe at his broad chest. The man easily sidestepped the attack with Luffy still in his arms, and swung his free arm around, catching Zoro in the ribs and sending him flying backwards, crashing into a wall. Zoro gasped, dropping the sword in his teeth, as the wind was knocked out of him and groaned in pain, taking a moment to regain his footing. He was shocked at the strength the man possessed; he was stronger than any one Zoro had ever come across before. A bead of sweat formed on his brow as he slipped back into his battle stance, his eyes darting to the dropped blade lying at the mans feet. The man grinned at Zoro and picked up the sword, snapping the silver metal with his bare hands. "No!" Zoro shouted uselessly, his heart filling with ache at having lost one of his precious swords, but his mind was drawn back to the peril his captain was in as the man tightened his grip on Luffy's neck, making the dark haired boy uselessly claw at the meaty fist constricting his air supply. A sense of urgency gripped Zoro like a vice, and drove him back into action._

_ He ran at his enemy again and, trying to ignore the doubts that had crept into his mind, slashed his swords to the side, aiming for the man's gut. Once again, the man easily dodged Zoro's attacks and kicked Zoro's legs out from under him as he ran past with enough force to break one of the bones. The green haired man was sent crashing to the ground, his two remaining swords clattering out of his reach. He cried out in pain as his hands instinctively flew to his leg, nursing the break. A cold feeling was starting to claw its way into Zoro's stomach; this guy was impossibly strong, maybe even stronger than Zoro himself. Zoro gulped, panting in exertion and pain. He was putting his all into this fight, he had to for his captain's sake, yet it seemed like he was nothing more than a bug to this tank of a man. As Zoro suddenly realised he was no longer in possession of his swords, he desperately crawled forwards on his stomach to where his blades lay. _

_Easily reading Zoro's movements, the man drove his heel down on to Zoro's back, pinning him to the spot and causing the swordsman to cough up blood as his internal organs were badly damaged. Once again, the brute strength this man possessed caused a deathly cold feeling to settle into Zoro's stomach; he was beginning to actually doubt in his ability to defeat the bulky strange and save Luffy. . Zoro snarled as he rolled over and sent a kick into the man's jaw. The man stumbled back, more in surprise than in pain, his grip on Luffy's throat loosening slightly, giving the dark haired boy a chance to gulp down a lungful of air. The man growled and ran at Zoro, and before he could react, the man's fist had connected with Zoro's face. Zoro was sent flying backwards, skidding to a stop just before he hit the wall. Zoro groaned and spat more blood, wincing as he sat up. He tried to stand but his legs gave out beneath him, his head still swimming from the force of the blow. The man was slowly advancing towards him, and Zoro was as good as defenceless with his swords still well out of reach. The man grinned evilly as he stooped down to pick up one of Zoro's blades, the white one, before advancing towards Zoro again. Zoro was about to leap to his feet and wrestle the precious sword away from his enemy before he felt a burning pain in his shoulder. He cried out in agony as the stranger thrust the sword through Zoro's arm, pinning him to the ground. Zoro gasped as he felt his warm blood run down his arm in deep scarlet rivers, and his fingers fumbled numbly at the hilt of the sword, trying to wrench it free of his flesh. However the blade was stuck fast, and in his injured and weakened state, there was nothing Zoro could do to free him self. Realising this, Zoro instead turned to glare at the enemy, his eyes flicking between the strangers face and Luffy's face which was scrunched up in pain, his hands still clawing at the meaty fist around his neck. A sense of pure terror filled Zoro's soul as he realised that he had no hope of saving either him self or his captain, and the stranger grinned darkly at Zoro again. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion: Luffy's last pleading stare at Zoro; the man's cruel, sadistic grin; the sunlight glinting off of the small black dagger the man had pulled from within his clothing; the blood curdling sound of it's blade slicing wetly through Luffy's neck._

Zoro awoke with a start, sweat rolling down the side of his face. His breath came in quick, short pants and he could feel his heart hammering inside of his chest. He whipped his head to the side and heaved a sigh of relief, thanking every god he could think of as he saw the peaceful form of Luffy still sound asleep beside him. He quickly scanned his surroundings, his hands already poised to draw his swords; they had shot to that position as soon as he had woken. Happy that he and Luffy were alone on the darkened beach Zoro dropped his hand from his swords and willed him self to calm down, however the adrenaline in his system made his hands tremble. Cursing in frustration, Zoro pushed him self up and hastily stepped away from the campfire, which was now nothing more than smouldering embers. Still shaking slightly, Zoro decided he would take a quick stroll down the beach in an attempt to calm him self down.  
He cursed him self for being so ridiculously shaken up by a mere dream, ashamed at how frightened he was by a figment of his imagination. Still, he could not deny that the prospect of being too weak to save his captain terrified him. Despite his gruff, strong exterior, the swordsman did experience fear, even if it was only very occasionally. Most of the fear he experienced occurred during battles, when he doubted his ability to keep his nakama safe. The number of times Zoro had almost sacrificed himself for the sake of his friends had risen above the count, though Zoro did not regret it. Casting a fleeting glance back towards his captain, Zoro allowed him self a tired smile. Even if it meant pushing himself beyond all physical limits, Zoro would gladly do everything he could to help his captain and make him the Pirate King.

After pacing the narrow beach for a little while and doing a few drills with his swords to work off his tension, Zoro shuffled back over to the small campfire and sat back down on the sand. The night sky was fading to a deep navy blue now, a small amount of sunlight battling away the inky blackness of night. Zoro let his half lidded eyes stare out into the vast, rolling ocean.  
Somewhere on those waves he knew their friends would probably be worrying, and trying to make their way back to their lost crew members. This gave Zoro a small amount of comfort, knowing that nothing short of death would be able to keep the crew apart for long., and that they were far too strong for death to claim any of them so easily.

The green haired man was just starting to relax, and drift back into the warm embrace of sleep when he heard a faint crash from further in land. Zoro cracked an eye open, his head cocked and staring quizzically into the trees as if they could give him answers. He stayed very still for a long while, keeping his breathing as even and quiet as he could. Just as he was starting to think he had imagined the noise, he heard another dull crash and what sounded like muffled shouting from the heart of the island. Instantly Zoro was fully alert, and was shaking his captain awake while keeping his eyes locked onto the trees before him. "Luffy? Luffy, come on, wake up!" He whispered, not wanting to break the eerie silence that had settled on the island with the creatures all falling silent; it only served to make the dull crashing sounds even louder and more foreboding.

After a particularly hard shove on Zoro's part, Luffy cracked one chocolaty eyes open, still bleary with sleep. "Whaddya want Zoro?" He mumbled irritably, unhappy at being woken up at such an ungodly hour. Zoro rolled his eyes. "I heard a crashing from deeper in the island and some shouting too. You're captain, so I figured I'd wake you and see what you want to do about it." He replied with a shrug. Luffy snapped his eyes open and sat up, straining his ears to listen for the crashing. Soon enough, another louder crash resounded through the island, and definite shouts and screams could be heard shortly afterwards. Luffy snapped his head around to stare at his first mate, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and excitement. Zoro groaned, hanging his head in resignation; he knew what the next words to leave his captains mouth would be.

"Zoro! We gotta go explore and find the mystery crashing!" Luffy shouted, already springing to his feet in anticipation of the adventure he was about to have. Zoro, once again, groaned and heaved him self to his feet, trudging after his captain who was racing off across the beach towards to deep green foliage of the forest.

"Maybe I shouldn't have woken him up…" Zoro thought grudgingly, as he followed his child of a captain into almost certain danger.

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**So what did you think? I hope you liked it :3 Also, once I've finished this story I'm thinking of writing a Naruto, circus AU fic. Would anybody be interested in reading that? Anyway, your support is much appreciated, love you guys!**


	6. Chapter 6- Chasing Shadows

**A/N: Hey guys! Wow, for once I'm not having to apologise for leaving it three weeks between updates :) I did say tat the summer holiday would give me more time to work on this ;) Anyway this one feels kinda short in comparison to the usual length but idk, it might just feel like that because it hasn't taken me forever and a day to finish it. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter as I re-drafted the little chase scene about three times and I spent about half an hour at one point staring at my keyboard with a mug of coffee and trying not to bag my head against my desk. Positive, i know :L Anyway I've finally got this story properly heading in the direction it's been aming for since the start and I can finally start making things more exciting and fun SO PLEASE BARE WITH ME JUST A LITTLE LONGER! Please R+R, even if its just dropping me a line telling me if you liked it or not. **

**Disclaimer: The characters are still not mine, and they still belong to Oda-Sama**

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Chapter 6- Chasing Shadows

"_Zoro! We gotta go explore and find the mystery crashing!" Luffy shouted, already springing to his feet in anticipation of the adventure he was about to have. Zoro, once again, groaned and heaved him self to his feet, trudging after his captain who was racing off across the beach towards to deep green foliage of the forest._

"_Maybe I shouldn't have woken him up…" Zoro thought grudgingly, as he followed his child of a captain into almost certain danger._

Luffy was already running through the woods, darting in between the slender trunks of trees that zipped past him. The moonlight painted them all in delicate silver and made the ground beneath Luffy's rubber feet dark and difficult to manoeuvre causing him to almost land on his face a few times. However Luffy's momentum worked in his favour and he managed to say upright. A manic grin was planted firmly on his face as excitement coursed through his veins and he thought of all the things that could be causing the mystery noises. Each time a new crash resounded through the forest or a different scream pierced the peacefulness of the night Luffy adjusted his direction accordingly, determined to find the source. Of course, he paid no regard to a certain green haired swordsman who was trying his best to not get lost and to keep up with the red bullet that was quickly leaving him in the dust. Oh no, not a thought was spared on such matters; his entire mind was full of adventure and mystery noises and meat and _adventure_.

He wound his way through the trees like this for a while before he started to loose any sense of where exactly he was going. He slowed his sprint to a light jog as his wide grin fell from his face, replaced by a perplexed frown. The crashing had become less and less frequent until it stopped all together along with the screams. Now Luffy had no idea where he was supposed to go and he was not happy about it. He stood still on the spot in frustration examining his surroundings as an out of breath Zoro caught up to him (the katanas on his side and his lack of rubber powers had made it harder for him to weave through the branches and so he had fallen behind.).

The surrounding woodland was dark, the edges of logs, branches and rocks highlighted in silver streaks by the moon. Soft carpets of moss looked like fuzzy shadows on the ground and the wide, reflective eyes of small creatures were visible poking through leaves and bushes every now and then. The sky was still a deep navy blue, and trillions of stars shone brightly like a smattering of pixie dust cast down across the heavens. Although the mysterious noises had stopped now the island was still silent, anything capable of making noise still reluctant to do so out of fear. In fact, the only noise Luffy could hear was his own breathing, the gentle wind in his ears, the murmurs of the waves and Zoro's panting behind him. He turned around to face the green haired swordsman, disappointment clouding in his big brown eyes. Zoro sighed when he saw the look on his captain's face and gazed around at their surroundings.

"Why did it stop Zoro?" Luffy asked, also returning to looking around. Zoro shrugged his shoulders. "I've got no idea, it's weird." He admitted, also slightly disappointed. While he may not have been as obvious about it as Luffy, Zoro was also excited for the prospect of adventure; it would have relieved the monotony of waiting for the crew to come and pick them up. The two stood in silence for a little while, Luffy occasionally running a few feet away to scramble atop a log or small boulder to try and get a better look around.

He was determined to find the reasoning for the crashes and the screams, and the reason for their sudden stop. After a short while, Zoro was going to suggest they give up and head back to the beach when Luffy visibly stiffened, holding up a hand for silence. Zoro bit his tongue and peered in the direction Luffy seemed to be staring, but to no avail; all he saw was more darkness.

"Lu?" He asked in a hushed whisper. Luffy did not respond; he only bristled in excitement. He stood as still as he could atop the large boulder he was now stood on. His eyes strained to clearly see the shape about one hundred yards away from him and obscured by branches and leaves. He could see the vague outline of what looked like a blurry figure drifting slowly through the trees; however in the low light conditions it was entirely possible that it was only a large animal of some sort.

Behind him, Zoro was stood perfectly still but unable to see what Luffy was looking at. Beginning to wonder if there was actually anything there, Zoro shifted forwards on his feet a little to try and get a better view. Unfortunately for him, the darkness was masking the large branch a foot in front of him.

The loud snap that followed resounded through the entire forest. Luffy whipped his head around to glare at Zoro for a moment, who only gave an apologetic grin, before he whipped his head back around to look at the shape he had been studying. It had stopped moving and somehow Luffy knew that it was looking right at him. As a cloud drifted past the moon, Luffy caught sight of a big pair of eyes staring right at him; a big pair of _human _eyes. In an instant the person turned away and fled, sprinting through the trees away from where Luffy and Zoro were stood. Reacting instantly Luffy leaped off of the boulder he was stood on and shot after the figure, determined to get answers out of them. Zoro who had not seen the person was left standing dumbfounded as he watched his captain's shrinking figure chasing after nothing.

"Luffy!" He shouted uselessly after him, frustrated at being left behind again. Knowing that he had absolutely no clue where he was, Zoro had no choice but to try and follow after his apparently deranged captain. He trudged through the under grown, muttering and cursing under his breath, eventually drawing a sword to swipe at the vines, weeds, and other plants that obstructed his path through the forest. Having completely lost sight of his captain's bright red vest, Zoro was left to blindly blunder through the darkened forest with no clue where he was or where he was headed. He turned his eyes up towards the stars, remembering that Nami sometimes used them for navigational purposes, but his jaw dropped open in disbelief as he took in the uncoordinated mess of twinkling white specs. Not even bothering to try and decipher them, Zoro decided to let his instincts lead him.

Within five minutes Zoro was twice as lost as he had been before hand. He had already nearly fallen into a bog, its vile stench the only thing that had alerted Zoro to it's being there. He had also wandered into a giant pythons nest, and it was only through luck that he managed to stealthily escape without waking the giant serpent.

He was beginning to loose all hope of ever returning to the small sandy beach where he and Luffy had made camp, and was saying his final good byes to any hope of rescue when he stumbled into a clearing; literally stumbled. He was pushing his way through a thick curtain of vines hanging down from a broad branch when he tripped over a log slick with moss and tumbled thirty feet down a hill. He pushed himself up out of the dirt with a curse and turned to continue on his trek through the forest when what he saw made him stop still in his tracks. "Oh my god," he murmured. "Luffy, if only you were here to see this."

Luffy tore through the forest after the shadowy figure, adrenaline once again pumping through his veins and excitement bubbling through his core. The person ahead of him was surprisingly fast and nimble on their feet, and at times it looked as though they were floating above the ground they were moving so fast.

"Hey! Wait there!" Luffy shouted after them, "I just wanna talk to you!" Despite Luffy's reassurances, the person showed no signs of stopping.

Luffy grunted with indignation and quickened his pace, his muscles pumping and his heart hammering in his chest. The person veered sharply to the left in what Luffy assumed was an attempt to loose him and it almost worked. Luffy was only just able to change his course in time, but in doing so he lost his balance, almost tumbling face first into the mud and giving the person a chance to pull even further ahead. Luffy growled and shot his rubber arm forwards, trying to grab a hold of the person. As he saw his hand draw level with the person a sharp pain made Luffy yelp and draw his hand back in close to himself. He examined his hand and saw a bright red mark, already starting to bruise, on his wrist and a large branch was tossed backwards towards him just moments later; the person had clubbed him with a tree branch. A small grin appeared on Luffy's face as his feet thundered on the soft ground. '_This is gonna be exciting after all' _Luffy thought. A high pitched, lilting laugh drifted into Luffy's ears from ahead. The person was _laughing_ at him. Luffy bristled with frustration, annoyed that he was being mocked in such a way.

The person twisted again, turning in a different direction through the trees and not once loosing speed. Luffy matched their pace perfectly and tried to think of how he could end the chase. He shot both of his hands forwards and grabbed a hold of two trees ahead, and then catapulted him self forwards. He yelled in triumph as he landed twenty or so yards behind the person, and was satisfied when he saw the person turn their head and let out a surprised yelp at how close he was.

Frustratingly, despite his new, closer proximity to the person, it was still too dark and they were still moving too fast for Luffy to pick out any distinguishable features other than long hair flying out behind the person like a tousled flag.

He shot his hands forwards again, preparing to catapult himself _in front _of the other person this time, but as soon as his hands stretched in front of them, the figure lashed out again, attacking Luffy. Luffy drew his hands in close to his body instinctively, cradling them close to his body to protect them from further injury. As Luffy was preoccupied, the figure wrenched a branch from a tree (branches appearing to be the weapon of choice for the person) as they flew past and hurled it backwards at Luffy, who was only just able to duck under it in time. Another lilting laugh drifted back towards Luffy, only serving to increase his ever growing annoyance.

He wanted to end this quickly; all he wanted was to talk to them! He piled on the speed in a last ditch attempt to catch up, all of his muscles screaming at him and his heart and lungs working in over drive to stop him from keeling over in exhaustion. Luffy sensed a wave of panic from the other person as they desperately tried, and failed, to speed up to keep ahead of Luffy. Realising that they couldn't keep running from the dark haired boy, the person dropped down to the ground, flattening themselves against the moss and let Luffy barrel past. It took Luffy a moment to realise what had happened, and he skidded to a halt with a loud curse. He whipped back around and instantly started sprinting back, but it only took him a second to realise that the other person was gone, having slipped away into the night while Luffy was still racing ahead. He shouted in anger, and stamped his foot like a small child throwing a fit. Once his anger at having been so easily tricked faded, and his exhaustion had receded, Luffy decided that his only plan of action now would be to retrace his steps and find Zoro again.

After about half an hour of following the trail of destruction he had made back to the small clearing from earlier, Luffy was slightly dismayed to find that Zoro was no longer there.

_Oh. _

After sitting down on a log for a little while trying to think of what to do next, Luffy eventually came to this conclusion: _If I were Zoro, I would have wandered off my now. If I were Zoro, I would also have a worse sense of direction than a blind man. Therefore, if I wander around for a bit with my eyes closed, I should find Zoro._

Feeling quite happy with him self for having such a genius idea, Luffy promptly snapped his eyes shut and staggered off through the trees with a large grin on his face.

Fifteen minutes, one close call with a bog and a python's nest later, Luffy found himself tumbling very painfully down a hill. He still had his eyes closed though, and he was hitting what felt like every single stone, branch and thorn on the slope as he fell. He eventually rolled to a stop as he felt the incline even out to a level surface, and Luffy sat up slowly. He opened his eyes and then wished he hadn't as the world swam in front of him. He groaned.

"Luffy?" said a familiar voice from a short distance away. Luffy quirked his head towards where the voice was coming from, his dazed mind struggling to place it. "Luffy!" said the voice again. The dizziness cleared from Luffy's mind and he instantly recognised the voice as Zoro's. He opened his eyes once again and smiled as he saw the green haired man running towards him. "Luffy! How did you know where I was? Last I saw of you, you were shooting off into the trees without an explanation." Zoro said, a bemused look on his face. Luffy grinned. "Simple. I walked about with my eyes closed!" he said as he pushed him self up onto his feet, brushing him self off. Zoro quirked an eye brow, but said no more.

Luffy's eyes widened as he looked past Zoro's shoulder. Zoro noticed the look of amazement on his captain's face and grinned.

"Zoro! Look at that!" Luffy shouted.

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**Well, what did you think folks? Did you like it? Did you not ilke it? Did you find it too dragged out? Did you find it not dragged out _enough? _The only way I can find out what you guys like, and tailor my writing to best please you guys, is if you drop me a quick review! Heck, maybe even a follow or a fave :) anyway, I'll start on chapter seven either tonight or tomorrow. Untill next time, ADIOS!**


	7. Chapter 7- A Tiny Village!

**A/N: Okay guys, I'm really sorry. I know I'm super late with uploading this chapter but please believe me when I say that this was a really difficult chapter to write due to how development-y it is. I've also had to write it on my mum's laptop due to the fact we've been on holiday in London visiting relatives and I couldn't take my laptop with me. My mum's laptop has a broken "B" key so I had to copy and paste all of the b's into it which was a pain. In fact I actually finished writing this chapter in the car on the way home, and I get really travel sick so just appreciate how much I did for you guys on this one! Anyway, I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter will be up as I still have to plan it out a little, but please bear with me and just be patient! **

**Thanks go out to my lovely reviewers:**

**sess18**

**Guest**

**Deadly In Pink**

**mad100141**

**ichigi111kurosaki**

**Without further ado, I present chapter seven! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine**

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Chapter 7- A Tiny Village!

_Luffy's eyes widened as he looked past Zoro's shoulder. Zoro noticed the look of amazement on his captain's face and grinned. _

_"Zoro! Look at that!" Luffy shouted._

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Luffy stared in amazement at the scene before him. They were stood in a large clearing, surrounded on all sides by steep hills and thick walls of trees and plants. The canopy of leaves was a deep emerald colour, each individual leaf shimmering with an unnatural iridescence. The sky was clearly visible above their heads, slowly brightening from the deep navy blue of night to a more azure shade brought on by the rising sun. The peak of the mountain at the centre of the island stood proudly above the canopy to the right side of where Luffy was stood, the snow covered pinnacle glittering like diamond dust.

This _amazing_ sight, this _spectacle_ of beauty, this _phenomenal_ miracle of nature however held no interest for Luffy. No, what made Luffy gawk in awe were the buildings packed together in the clearing, and the _tiny people _scurrying about between them. The buildings were wrecks; splinters of wood were strewn everywhere and rubble, from what could only be assumed was once buildings, sat in dishevelled heaps here and there. A fine layer of dust coated everything.

The tiny people (the tallest of whom reached up to a little under Zoro's ribs) all shared dark skin and hair. They all wore very tribal clothing. The men wore variations of leather, cloth and fur skirts, with strings of wooden beads, flint and animal hide and bone tied around their waists as decoration. The women's clothing ranged from red cloth crop tops tied around their chests and similar skirts to the men's (only less flamboyant) to simplistic dresses decorated with zigzag prints and strings of brightly coloured clay beads. Nearly all of the people Luffy could see had tattoos encircling their upper arms; a simple band of red pigment above a wide zigzag band. Some of them had more complex tattoos running further down their arms and up across their torsos, but these were mainly exclusive to the men.

They were wandering forlornly around their decimated village, many of them injured in one way or another and all of them looking as though they had no hope. To one side of the clearing was a mass of people in what appeared to be a medical area: some were walking around with sweaty brows and apologetic expressions; some were crouched on the ground together sobbing; some were lying on the ground either sleeping or writhing in agony from whatever severe injuries they had received, and some were lying deathly still with thin sheets covering their bodies.

Zoro smirked as he looked at Luffy's amazed expression, but all traces of humour left his face as he turned back to look at the tiny village.

"Zoro, what happened?" Luffy asked, his eyes following a pair of the short people, a young couple by the looks of it, as they helped each other limp over to the medical area.

"Well when I arrived I ran into their leader. He told me that they'd just been attacked; that's what the crashes and screams we heard were. I think that whoever you were chasing after might know something about what happened." Zoro explained as his eyes drifted across the scene of destruction before them. Luffy nodded, his gaze still drifting over the scene of destruction. "Where is the leader now?" Luffy asked, his voice low and solemn. "After he explained what had happened he disappeared inside that building along with some others." Zoro said, extending one muscled arm and pointing to a low-roofed circular building in the centre of the village. It was one of the few to have escaped complete destruction, with a section of wall crumbling and its straw roof falling through in a few areas. Luffy nodded and started off in the direction of the low building, Zoro silently following him.

As soon as Luffy lifted the heavy woven curtain that served as a door in place of the previous- now broken- wooden door, the heady scent of incense and dried herbs filled his nose. He coughed, taken by surprise as the pungent smoke rising from various incense burners swirled around him. He looked around the small single-roomed building that he had entered and took in what he saw: a circle of what looked like village elders huddles together in deep discussion; the vibrantly painted wooden sculptures of snarling faces and forest creatures that sat around the room, draped in strings of beads and silky fabrics with both fresh and dried flower petals scattered at their bases; the heavy woven fabrics that hung from the stone walls depicting various scenes and moments from history or fantasy- Luffy could not tell; the fire pit in the centre of the room, around which the short people were sat, encircled by large rocks and stones painted with tribal designs; the baskets of dried herbs and dark, reddish-brown logs that sat beside the fire pit, some of them dwindling to almost empty.

The village elders did not notice their entrance, and Luffy stood awkwardly for a moment peering over at them. Behind him, Zoro leant back against the stone wall nonchalantly, waiting for something to happen. After a few moments of this, Luffy grew bored of waiting so he cleared his throat loud enough for the village elders to hear. One of them looked up from the group with a badly concealed look of frustration on his face. He stood apart from the other men gathered in the room who wore similar clothing to the villagers outside, if with brighter colours and more strings of beads and teeth, a few of them even with an animal furs draped across one shoulder and large complex tattoos spiralling across their wrinkled chests.

The one who stood up looking at Luffy had an ornate headdress on with long, white feathers lying back against his head like a crown, attached to a red woven headband. Soft downy feathers hung down from the sides of his face, dipped in red paint at the bottom. A string with a mixture of beads, teeth and a few precious-looking stones was strung across his forehead. On his body he wore several animal skins across his shoulder and wrapped around his waist in a sort of toga. He wore a thick leather belt around his middle, from which hung various leather pouches full off what looked like feathers, herbs, small stones, and more that Luffy could not discern from where he stood. Red and black tattoos circled around his muscular upper arms, and horizontal lines ran parallel across his shoulders. Intricate swirling tattoos laced across his muscles chest, lazily looping from one side of his abdomen to the other.

He looked fairly young compared to the gaggle of old men around him, being possibly middle aged (although it was hard to tell with the obvious physical differences). He had dark eyes, creased at the edges with worry and a thin bony nose. His hair was scraped back from his face and fell down behind his headdress, reaching to his upper back in almost lack waves and his ears were adorned with big square earrings.

"What do you want, stranger?" The man asked. His voice was warm and throaty, capable of either warming comfort or intimidating ferocity. Luffy casually looked the man up and down before he delivered his answer.

"I want to help you." He said, his expression truthful.

Both Zoro and the short man stared back at Luffy incredulously. "Whoa Luffy, hold on a minute will you?" Zoro stammered, already dreading the trouble he was certain this would cause the two of them. "Why?" Luffy asked defensively, already determined that he would help the tiny village. Zoro glanced quickly at the tiny man who was staring at Luffy whilst exchanging hushed whispers with the older men around him, who had heard Luffy's declaration. "Just come here," Zoro said in a quiet voice, beckoning Luffy over. Luffy pouted but complied, dragging his sandaled feet over. Zoro put his arm around Luffy's shoulder and turned away from the short men to keep their conversation from being over heard.

"Just what do you think you're doing Luffy?" Zoro asked, fighting to keep from shouting. "We don't know where we are, who these people are or _what _it is that's attacking them." Luffy shrugged.

"Oh come on Zoro, we've got to help them. Besides, it'll be fun! It's not like we've got anything better to do until the others get here anyway." he replied. Zoro heaved a sigh, knowing he had already lost the argument, as Luffy turned back to face the small men with a grin. The man with the headdress seemed to have also reached a decision, as he stood tall- well, as tall as he could- and waited for Luffy to speak.

"We'll help!" the dark-haired boy declared with a devilish gleam in his eye. The short man nodded. "In that case, I think introductions are in order. I am Tollu'k, leader of the Nawambi people." He said, striking his chest with his fist and bowing. Luffy nodded in reply. "I'm Luffy, captain of the Straw Hat pirates. This is Zoro, my Swordsman and First Mate. Do you mind explaining how this happened?"

"Of course," Tollu'k replied. He and the other men sat back down on cushions around the fire pit, gesturing for Luffy and Zoro to do the same. Two girls, with long dark hair pinned back with flowers and long grass skirts that brushed the floor, who had been standing to the side of the room hurried forwards and placed colourful cushions down for Luffy and Zoro to sit on. Zoro nodded to them in thanks, elbowing Luffy who then did likewise. The girls bobbed a curtsey and shuffled back to the edge of the room. Once everybody was seated, Tollu'k began explaining.

"It began a few moon-cycles ago. One day, as soon as the last golden rays of the sun disappeared behind the trees and the white moon was bathing the island in silver, a terrible force descended upon us. It came from the forest- a terrifying white figure with seething red eyes and long sharp talons emerged from the trees and unleashed all of its fury on our homes. We tried to stop it. Our best warriors raced out armed to the teeth with spears, arrows, maces and more, but it was as though our weapons had no effect on the monster. With just a single deadly touch from it, our warriors collapsed to the ground, as cold as the dead and shaking with uncontrollable terror. We had never seen anything like it. The attack continued on until dawn, but as soon as the sky began to lighten the monster disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared, back into the trees without a trace.

That night the attack was not so bad; a few buildings were damaged but nothing beyond repair, and our warriors were the only casualties. But as time drew on, the monsters attacks grew more and more aggressive. It would return most nights, often before we had even had a chance to make repairs. Last night's attack has been the worst one so far, and I have no doubt that it will return again tonight to finish us off. I fear that if we don't do something soon then my people will perish."

Tollu'k finished with a sombre voice, his eyes cast down and in shadow. In that moment he looked very tired, and his concern for his people was as clear as day on his face. While he may have been the village leader, he still looked fairly young himself and it was not hard to see that recent events had put a strain on the man's shoulders.

Zoro couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for being so reluctant to help the village. He had been trying to prevent Luffy from leaping head first into any unnecessary danger until their crew arrived to pick them up, but he still felt bad for not offering to help. While his captain and he were definitely not heroes (heroes had to share their meat and booze. They didn't _want _to share their meat and booze), there was no doubt that they were different from your common pirates. They had a strong sense of right and wrong and disliked seeing innocent people suffering. They could be spurred into action without the promise of reward and if they saw someone who was in need of help then they would gladly give it, if the mood struck them of course.

Luffy's mind was made up after hearing Tollu'k's story. He was determined to defeat whatever or whoever it was who was attacking them. He knew that it was probably going to be dangerous and that he would likely get hurt in one way or another. However it felt like if he didn't do this he would be betraying not only himself, but his crew who looked up to and believed in him as well.

(If he had stopped to analyse these emotions for a moment, he might have discovered that it was due to the similarities between the Nawambie's situation and the situations Nami or Usopp's villages had been in that caused his burning desire to save them. He would have found that it was due to his strong loyalties and bonds with his friends that his anger towards whoever was mercilessly attacking the short villagers burned so fiercely. However this is Luffy, and even if he did have the attention span to analyse his emotions, it is unlikely that he would anyway. It is more likely that he would have instead run off in which ever direction seemed to hold the most danger with a manic grin planted firmly on his rubber face.)

Luffy nodded once to himself and looked Tollu'k in the eye. There was a hard glint in his eye that caused some of the cold dread that had been festering in Tollu'k's stomach to vanish with a squirm, replaced by a warm feeling of hope. "We'll help you, pops." Luffy stated with a firm voice. Beside him, Zoro nodded.

"You can count on us Chief. I'm not entirely sure how, but you can be sure we'll stop this monster."

A wave of relief crossed Tollu'k's face, and the other old men around him seemed to have had a large weight lifted from their shoulders. "Thank you, Straw Hats. I'm grateful for your help. If there's any way we can help you then please don't hesitate to ask." Tollu'k said, bowing down to them so that his nose brushed the floor. The old men sat around him did likewise and even the two girls stood to the sides of the room from earlier dropped to their knees and bowed.

Zoro fidgeted uncomfortably on his knees feeling awkward. Luffy however was beaming, and swung his gaze around the room with glee, his ego inflating at an exponential rate. "Right well, we'll be off now then." Zoro said hurriedly as he pushed himself up to his feet, towering above the still-bowing pigmy people. He pulled the still-grinning Luffy up by the arm and dragged him out of the round building.

The warm early morning sun greeted Luffy and Zoro as they emerged out of the building. Luffy squinted into the light and Zoro pulled his hand up the shield his eyes. The two of them walked a short distance away from the building so that they were further away from the villagers. "Okay then Captain, how exactly do you propose we save these people?" Zoro asked, quirking his eyebrow. Luffy turned his head to glance at him with a vacantly amused expression and shrugged. "I don't know. I figured I'd think about that later." He said, turning his gaze back out into the forest. Zoro clapped his palm to his forehead in frustration and counted to ten. "Well, don't you think it's a coincidence that Tollu'k's monster is white and vanished into the forest at the verge of dawn, and you chased a white figure through the forest at the verge of dawn?" Zoro asked patiently. Understanding dawned on Luffy's face as he pieced two and two together. "So we need to find that person then!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. Zoro sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Luffy."

"And then we need to beat them up!" Luffy continued, his excitement growing.

A sigh. "Yes, Luffy."

"And then the village will be safe!"

"Yes, Luffy."

"Well that's it then- let's go!" Luffy shouted happily, bounding off into the direction of the mountain whose peak was just visible above the emerald canopy of the trees. Zoro clapped his palm to his forehead again as he trudged off after his ridiculously dense captain, a mildly amused smirk pulling at the edges of his lips.


	8. Chapter 8- A Pair of Glowing Red Eyes

**A/N:****I am a bad author. I am a very bad author and I can't apologise enough to you over how long this chapter has taken. I have no excuse apart from a lack of motivation and I sincerely apologise. Anyway, I'm not so sure about the title of this chapter, but I'll stick with it for now but don't be surprised if it changes one day. I know that not a lot happens in this chapter but I wanted to try and get this one out to you as soon as I could so sorry for that. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out as I'm having some problems with my pet bearded dragond and need to sort them out, and the new Skulduggery book was released today so I'm reading that. Anyway, on with the chapter I guess!**

**Disclaimer: I'd love to tell you that One Piece is all mine, but unfortunately its still not. *sigh***

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**Chapter 8: A Pair Of Glowing Red Eyes.**

_ "Well, don't you think it's a coincidence that Tollu'k's monster is white and vanished into the forest at the verge of dawn, and you chased a white figure through the forest at the verge of dawn?" Zoro asked patiently. Understanding dawned on Luffy's face as he pieced two and two together. "So we need to find that person then!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. Zoro sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Luffy." _

_"And then we need to beat them up!" Luffy continued, his excitement growing._

_A sigh. "Yes, Luffy."_

_"And then the village will be safe!"_

_"Yes, Luffy."_

_"Well that's it then- let's go!" Luffy shouted happily, bounding off into the direction of the mountain whose peak was just visible above the emerald canopy of the trees. Zoro clapped his palm to his forehead again as he trudged off after his ridiculously dense captain, a mildly amused smirk pulling at the edges of his lips._

The warm sun was well up into the sky by now and all of the forest animals were fully awake. A natural orchestra of animal calls and bird song drifted from the trees, only interrupted by the footfalls and snapping twigs caused by two pirates. Luffy was walking slightly ahead of Zoro, his mouth set in a firm, determined line. Zoro walked a short distance behind his captain, his hands clasped nonchalantly behind his head, not bothering to question Luffy's possibly questionable choice of direction on their hunt; after all, directions chosen by Zoro would only succeed in getting them even more lost than they already were. No conversation passed between the two as they had opted for the silent-ambush approach, or at least as silent as the two heavy footed males could get.

By this point they had been searching the forest surrounding the Nawambie's village for about an hour but to no avail. The only other living things they had come across were what seemed to be a very angry cross between a giant weasel and a lizard, an alarmingly crowded rattlesnakes nest, and a tall, spiny tree growing unusual fury fruits (Luffy had almost succeeded in taking a huge bit out of one of the purple and red fuzzy growth, however Zoro had batted it out of his captains rubbery hands just in time). They could find no sign of Tollu'k's monster. Not even a footprint. Zoro sighed. "Hey Luffy, what'll we do it we _can't_ find this monster?" He asked. Luffy glanced behind him, meeting Zoro's eyes for a brief moment, before turning back around to survey the surrounding area. "We will find it. I won't accept failure," H=he said, not a shadow of doubt in his voice. I dropped my hands from behind my head and jogged forwards to watch up with Luffy. "Yeah, but I mean we've been searching for at least a good hour now Lu; we've not found a thing. We don't even know if we're going in the right direction." He said. Luffy gave him an annoyed sidelong glance. "We'll find it. We'll find it if we have to search all day, and if not then we'll just have to catch it at the village tonight." He said with a huff and then quickened his pace, swinging his arms by his sides. Zoro rolled his eyes and walked after Luffy. "Very mature…" He muttered under his breath.

Another two hours slipped by as Luffy and Zoro searched the forest looking for a sign that they were near to the monster. The midday sun was dazzlingly bright, causing the already bright colours of the forest to glimmer, even more saturated than normal. The animals seemed to be handling the intense heat pretty well but Luffy and Zoro were struggling. They had already coated their arms and faces with a layer of mud to prevent them from burning, and were immensely grateful for the shady canopy of the trees.

"Zoro, I'm thirsty!" Luffy moaned as they attempted to climb over a ditch full of thistles. "Yeah I know-_ow!_" Zoro said, yelping in pain as his arm became entangled in the thistles. Luffy chuckled as Zoro tried to disentangle his limb from the thorny vines. "God damn it… We could try heading towards that mountain over there. It's got a snow cap so some of the melted water might have run into a stream or something." Zoro said once he was free, glaring at the ditch. Luffy nodded, and easily stretched his leg over the ditch and stepped across, bouncing off towards the mountain which was poking above the trees ahead of them Zoro glared at his rubber captain for a moment, enying the ease with which he was able to hop over obstacles. Then Luffy's hammer-like qualities in the water popped into Zoro's mind and he wasn't so jealous anymore, and he quickly followed after the dark haired boy.

It only took a few minutes for the pair to find water. They stumbled across a thin stream slicing through a carpet of lush green grass and moss, running with cool clear water only a short distance from the mountain. Unfortunately it was very shallow, and Zoro had his doubts on whether it was very clean so after a short debate the pair opted to go right to the foot of the mountain where the water should have gathered into a deep pool.

They followed the course of the stream for a short while, occasionally seeing a few of the larger animals drinking from the stream. The animals that they did see were beautiful, one of them being a small cat-like creature with thick, muscular back legs built for jumping; big, dark eyes giving it a very cute innocent face; short, shiny black and purple striped fur and long, sharp canine teeth protruding from its upper jaw, detracting slightly from the innocent look.

The pair stopped when they found their path blocked by a thick ring of trees and vines. "What now?" Luffy asked. "It looks like the mountain is right behind these trees," he said gazing up at the tip of the mountain clearly visible above the thick layer of leaves "I might be able to stretch and jump over those trees but there's no way you could." He stated plainly, turning to look at the swordsman. Zoro nodded, casting his gaze to either side, his eyes trailing along the thick wall of wood to see if there was a break in the trees.

There wasn't.

"I guess I could cut through some of the smaller trees and make an entrance…" Zoro mused, unwilling to hack a big chunk out of the ancient trees unnecessarily. Luffy nodded eagerly, slightly impatient by now, and Zoro nodded and started walking along the near impenetrable wooded barrier to try and find a spot where it thinned out a bit.

They clung to the edge of the tree line, their pace quick due to their increasingly desperate need for water. After about fifty metres of walking they found a stretch where it looked like the trees were young, ten years or so old at the most. Their trunks were not as wide and even their highest branches were only half as tall as the older trees. Luffy looked at Zoro expectantly, an innocent grin on his face. Zoro rolled his eyes at his childish captain and drew his swords, taking stance in front of the tree and placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth.

"Oni Giri!" He shouted, slashing all three swords out and slicing the tree. He stood still for a moment and Luffy looked calmly on, despite the trees having apparently taken on no damage.

Zoro stood and sheathed his swords; as the hilts clicked shut against the end of the sheaths, a large triangular section of wood from the trees fell away with a crash forming an entrance.

"Hn," Zoro huffed as he stepped through the new entrance, Luffy following happily after him.

As they stepped through the trees it was like they were entering a new world. The mountain towered high above them, its slate grey surface looking almost metallic in the dazzling sunlight. The snowy cap at its peak glistened like crystals, a shimmering stream of ice cold water flowing down the mountain side.

It collected at the base of the mountain in a wide azure pool, cascading down several rocky shelves into adjoining pools like a miniature waterfall system. The water rippled slightly, casting dappled sunlight on the sandy beds. There were four sections to the pool in total, each leading on to the other via one of the small waterfalls. Each of the pools was a slightly different shade du to the differing depths; the first a pale sea green, the second a shimmering turquoise, the third bright cerulean and the fourth a deep cobalt blue. The final pool was by far the widest and the deepest, big enough for both Zoro and Luffy to easily swim (if it weren't for Luffy's ineptitude in the water that is), leading off to the narrow stream which Luffy and Zoro had found earlier on.

The grass surrounding the pool was naturally short and soft, creating a luxurious green carpet, and hundreds of different wild flowers and ferns grew in patches, bright colours of every shade in existence decorating the ground as if somebody had splashed expensive paint on the ground.

The trees fully encircled the lagoon, their deep emerald canopy not quite forming a perfect roof. The pale blue sky was easily visible through a large gap in the leafy canopy, not a single cloud blemishing it. The bright golden sun was partially concealed by the leaves, casting dappled shadows across half of the lagoon.

A large boulder stood upright below where the water fell into the first pool, surrounded by many other smaller rocks. Zoro noticed that there were small carvings etched into each of the rocks, but from his distance he couldn't quite make out what they depicted.

"Wow," Luffy breathed, his excitement already bubbling up at the prospect of exploring this small slice of paradise. Before he could scamper off and start crawling over everything, Zoro whipped his hand out and grabbed Luffy by the back of his jacket. "I don't think so Luffy," he said. Luffy yelped in surprise and turned to ace Zoro, his puppy eyes already equipped. However one look at Zoro's raised eye brow and stern expression and Luffy dropped the pleading look, replacing it with a pout. "Fine..." He grumbled. Zoro nodded and released his captain, striding forwards to get a better look at the carvings on the stone.

Luffy walked quickly towards the pool, dropping don to his knee's at the water's edge and reaching his cupped hand into the water. As his fingers breached the surface of the water, the coolness of it alleviated some of Luffy's weariness and he eagerly took a long, deep drink.

Zoro kept an eye on his captain, wary of him falling in and took a drink himself, his gaze flicking back to the stones every now and then. From what he could tell it looked like a story of some kind, with four people in it. The carvings were old and faded however, years of weathering and erosion blurring the lines. Zoro gave up on the carvings, deciding they were unimportant, and continued to look around the lagoon, awed by its beauty.

All of a sudden the two pirates looked up, startled. Zoro exchanged a glance with Luffy. "Did you..?" He asked, his words trailing off. Luffy picked up for him, "Hear that laugh?"

"Yeah, it sounded like a girl." Zoro nodded, a bemused expression on his face. Luffy quickly rose to his feet and scanned the lagoon. It didn't seem as though anything besides them was there, and all he could hear was the wind in the leaves and the trickling of the water. The two stood perfectly still, not moving a muscle, and strained their ears.

Suddenly they heard it again, louder, from the direction of the carved boulders. It was a high pitched, delicate, lilting laugh. They whipped around to stare at the boulders in anticipation, Luffy's fists clenched and Zoro's hands inching slowly towards his swords. Both of them were certain that this was either the person Luffy had been chasing, or the monster. They waited tensely for a few moments that felt more like hours, waiting for something to happen. A bead of sweat rolled down Luffy's brow and his heart rate picked up. He gulped.

They heard the noise again, louder, only this time it sounded less like an innocent laugh and more like a low, rumbling growl.

Zoro drew his swords and took a step towards the boulders, peering at the stream of water falling onto the largest boulder, trying to make out what was behind it. Everything was distorted by the constant movement of the water though and he couldn't make out much. Zoro stumbled back in shock however, as a piercing scream rang out across the lagoon and a pair of glowing red eyes shone through the water.


	9. Chapter 9- The Monster

**A/N: Hey guys, so erm, yeah. I'm dreadfully sorry this has taken so long again, but this is a fight chapter and i'm not very good at writing fights. Plus i didn't really get many reviews on the last chapter which was quite disheartening. It doesn't even feel like I'm writing this for anyone but my self anymore, but I made myself write this just in case i do have any loyal readers left. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It has a twist at the end, so let me know what you think of that, and let me know how well you think i did at the fighting too. Afterall, if you don't tell me what could be improved, i wont know for next time, will I? Anway, here we go!**

**Diclaimer: One Piece still does not belong to me, it never has and it never will.**

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**Chapter 9: The Monster**

_They heard the noise again, louder, only this time it sounded less like an innocent laugh and more like a low, rumbling growl. _

_Zoro drew his swords and took a step towards the boulders, peering at the stream of water falling onto the largest boulder, trying to make out what was behind it. Everything was distorted by the constant movement of the water though and he couldn't make out much. Zoro stumbled back in shock however, as a piercing scream rang out across the lagoon and a pair of glowing red eyes shone through the water._

Luffy's eyes widened in shock and he quickly clamped his hands over his ears, trying to block out the scream that was threatening to make his ear drums bleed. The noise was making his mind fuzzy and he felt dizzy. He dragged his eyes over to where Zoro was standing and he seemed to be suffering from the same effects. Luffy stumbled forwards, certain that the owner of the red eyes was the one making the scream. The red eyes, which had been transfixed on Zoro, turned to glare at Luffy.

Before Luffy or Zoro had a chance to react, a figure flew out from behind the stream of water steadily falling on to the carved stone. The figure was porcelain white and seemed to be smoking, wispy tendrils of white rising from the body. A long mane of knotted white hair grew from its head, tangles and untamed. Its hands were outstretched, long sharp claws aimed for Luffy's throat.

Despite his dizzy state Luffy was able to duck out of the way and the figure flew past Luffy and tumbled to the ground a few feet away, its unearthly scream cut off with a muffled "oof". It quickly rolled over and rose to its hands and knees, crouched on the ground in an animalistic position: arms stretched slightly out in front; legs curled in, poised to spring; head low down to the ground. White wisps of what looked like smoke curled in the air around it, and seething red smoke drifted out of the eyes giving it a sinister appearance. There was no doubt in Luffy's mind that this was the monster terrorising the Nawambie.

Before the monster had chance to gather its wits and open its mouth to scream again, Luffy drew back his rubber fist and let loose a powerful punch with a cry of "Gum-Gum Pistol!". The monster saw the attack coming the moment it was launched and dropped to the ground and rolled away, the punch missing it by inches. "Luffy, stop! Remember what the chief said!" Zoro shouted from behind Luffy, drawing his swords and tying his bandana around his head. Luffy glanced over his shoulder in confusion. "What do you mean stop? This is the monster attacking pop's village!" He shouted, twisting to the side to avoid a large stone that had been launched at his head with some force. The monster hissed.

"Tollu'k said that anybody who touched it collapsed! Or had you forgotten?" Zoro shouted, dropping to the ground and rolling away as the monster sprang at him. Having missed its target, the monster stretched its arms out and grabbed hold of a low branch, swinging its self up onto it.

"Oh yeah! What does that mean then, I can't punch it?" Luffy asked, taking up stance below the branch the monster was perched on. "Yeah, I guess it does. I can still attack it with my swords as long as I don't touch it, but you'll have to find some other way to attack." Zoro said, slashing his swords out in front of him as the monster leapt down from the tree.

Luffy frowned as he watched Zoro and the monster exchange blows, Zoro using his swords and fists to attack and the monster using its claws and any rocks or branches that were close to hand. Luffy glanced around the lagoon, his frustration at being unable to join the fight rising with each passing second. Suddenly another ear piercing scream rang our through the lagoon and Luffy cried out, clamping his hands over his ears again. He swung around to look at Zoro and the monster, and was surprised when he saw a black stain on the front of the monsters ragged clothing. Zoro seemed to be grinning despite the earth shattering scream and Luffy realised that he must have cut the monster. The scream died down and the monster resumed its attack.

Suddenly Luffy had an idea, and he tore off his red jacket and ripped it in two. He wrapped the scraps of fabric around his fists and his wrists and swung his arm back. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" He shouted, before launching his fist forwards. In its injured state, the monster was slow to react and took the full force of Luffy's punch in the gut, sending it hurtling backwards and splashing into one of the pools of water. Zoro turned and smirked at Luffy who grinned in reply.

The two turned their attention back to the pools of water when the monster shot out of the water with a loud splash and floated in the air, suspended five feet above the surface of the pool. The black blood had run down the monster's side, staining its clothes from the hip down. It's previously wild hair was now limp and plastered to its face and shoulders, water droplets dripping into its face. One of its clawed hands was clutched protectively over its injured belly and it was slightly stooped over. It had an enraged look in its eyes, though the water dripping from its body and rolling down its face detracted slightly from its ferocity. It snarled at Luffy and Zoro, who dropped into fighting stances once again. The monster screamed again as if flew at the pair, hands outstretched and ready to impale the pirated on its talons. Both Luffy and Zoro rolled to the side, avoiding the spear-like claws by inches. The monster whipped its head around, snarling, trying to decide which pirate to focus its onslaught on.

Within moments it directed its attacks on Luffy, who had only just managed to pull himself to his feet. Unprotected as he was, Luffy was limited in his attacks and blocks, and had to focus most of his energy on dodges. He knew that if the monster was able to lay a hand on him he'd be done for, so he ducked, jumped, and rolled out of the way of most of the monsters attacks, throwing in a few of his own whenever there was a window of opportunity.

While Luffy seemed to be dancing with the monster, Zoro was biding his time at the side of the fight, trying to work out a plan. He knew they needed to subdue the white beast before nightfall, or there was the risk that it might make its way back to the village. However with them being unable to physically touch it, their fighting tactics were greatly reduced. Glancing back at the fight, he could see that Luffy was beginning to tire. His foot work was becoming slightly clumsy and he was starting to throw reckless attacks. That being said however, the monsters injuries were affecting its fighting ability too. It was slowing down, and any sudden movements seemed to aggravate its still-bleeding wound.

The best idea Zoro could come up with was that he join the fight and they keep on trying to wear it down until it gave in to its exhaustion.

Tightening his grip on his swords, Zoro darted forwards and aimed a slash at the monsters midsection. It saw him coming out of the corner of its eye and twisted its body around to avoid the sharp blades, however while it's attention was on the steel inches from its belly Luffy threw a punch that caught the monster in its ribs. It spluttered in surprise and tried to jump backwards to regain it's footing, but it found its path blocked by the green haired swordsman. Snarling, the beast whipped out its clawed hand, its talons whistling past Zoro's cheek. He ducked out of the way and the beast sailed over him, landing on unsteady feet with its back to the pools of water. Luffy and Zoro span to face it, and Luffy was pleased to see a flash of uncertainty in the white creature's eyes. Luffy swung both his fists behind him, and once they had stretched back a suitable distance, he flung them forwards, palm out, and struck the monster in the centre of its torso. The monster fell back with a cry and before it could recover, Zoro dashed forwards and slammed the hilt of his sword into the beasts head. The monster fell to the side, landing hard on its back and gasping in pain. Without missing a beat Zoro kicked the monster in the gut, its white body folding around its boot and sent it flying backwards.

This was it; he could see the monster was on its last legs. Just a few more moments and it would be over.

"Luffy!" He shouted. His captain nodded and ran forwards to where the monster was struggling to get on to its hands and knees. He swung his fist up, preparing for the final blow, the monster twisting its head around to stare at Luffy with terror in its red eyes. Just as he was about to bring his fist crashing down into the monster's body, his eyes widened as he saw the white beasts red eyes fade to cerulean blue, its sharp, pointed fangs retract, revealing ordinary teeth and heard a girls voice screaming for him to stop.


End file.
